Reel for picture-machines.



W. E. MILLAR,

REEL FOR PICTURE MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4. 1915.

Patented Sept. 11, 191?.

WILLIAM E. MILLAR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

REEL FOR PICTURE-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1131, 11%113.

Application filed December 4, 1915. Serial No. 641,983.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. Mmmn,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reels for Picture- Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

. This invention relates to improvements-in moving picture machines and refers more specifically to the construction of the reel from which the film is unwound during the taking and projection of the picture or on which the film is wound upon the storage film after the filmhas passed through the camera or projecting machine.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel construction ofreel for this purpose which is so constructed and arranged that when a film has been wound thereupon, as after its passage through a projecting machine, said film may be directly unwound from the same reel which received it when the picture on the film is to be again exhibited through the projecting machine, thereby avoiding the necessity of rewinding the fi upon an intermediate reel from which it is subsequently unwound when passed through the projecting machine to again exhibit the picture.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts shown in drawings and described in specification and is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a pay out and a receiving reel and the elements of a projecting machine therebetween through which the film is passed.

Fig. 2'is a side view of the reel with parts broken away.

3 is a plan view of the reel shown in Fig.6 is a detail section on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 1.

as a whole parts of a As shown in the drawings designates projecting machine through which the film 11 is threaded to pass the projecting elements of the machine. 12 designates an upper reel which supports a as throughthe medium as are herein shown roll of film that is to be passed through the receive the film. Said reels may be supported in. any suitable manner relatively to or on the frame of the projecting machine of upper and lower bifurcated arms 14, 15, respectively, and axles or shafts 16, 17, respectively. The upper or paying out reel 12 is non-rotatively mounted on its axle 16 being keyed thereto as shown in'Figs. 1 and 2, while the lower reel is rotatively mounted on its axle 17.

The construction of both reels is the same, with minor variations hereafter to be specifically mentioned, and in the following description but only a single reel is assumed.

Said reel comprises end plates 18, 18, which are connected by a suitable center sleeve 19 through which are adapted to extend the supporting shafts 16 and 17. Ra dially exterior to said central bearing sleeve are a series of transverse tie rods 20 which extend between and are attached at their ends to the plates in any suitable manner to act not only as tie elements but spacing elements. These tie rods are spaced relatively close together and are arranged concentrically about the center bearing sleeve 19, and inclosed within the circular series and around the central bearing sleeve is a free circular opening designated by 21. 22 designate a series of anti-friction rollers which surround and are supported by the tie rods 20. All of the tie rods except one, which is designated as disposed parallel to the axis of the reel. Said tie rod 20 and the anti-friction roller or, sleeve 22 surrounding the same are disposed at an oblique angle to the central axis of the reel. Closely adjacent to said oblique anti-friction roller 22' one side plate or head 18 of the reel is cut away to provide an opening or vent 2 1 outwardly through which the inner end of a roll of film supported on said concentric rollers may extend as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The remaining portions of the heads 18 may be cut away to lighten the same in any suitable manner. Located adjacent to one end of said vent opening 2 1 is a clamping device 25 by which to clamp the inner end of a roll of filmsupported on the reel in'the manner'indicated on the lower reel of Fig. 1. The said clamping device consists of a resilient bar of fiat metal or the like which is inserted through a loop '26 that is struck up from the adjacent head 01 the reel in the manner most clearly shown in Fig. 5 whereby the clamping bar is held in place in a manner to permit the inner end of the film to be slipped between the same and the bar to hold the film end relatively to the reel.

In order to describe the use of my improved reel, it may be assumed preliminarily that a roll of film is to be unwound from an ordinary upper pay out reel upon a reel em bodying my invention. In this use of the apparatus associated with the reels, the free end of the film which contains the beginning of the picture is threaded through the projecting apparatus, through a transverse slit 28 in the casing which contains the lower reel, over the oblique anti-friction roller 22', thence outwardly through the vent opening 24 and the free end of the film is slipped between the clamp bar 25 and the adjacent reel head. Therefore upon rotation of the upper and lower reels the film is carried through the proper guide in the projecting machine and is spirally wound about the lower film roll support consisting of the concentrically disposed rollers 22, 22' in the manner indicated at the lower part of Fig. 1. The film is compactly wound about the hollow annular support on the reel by reason of the fact that the entering end of the film is held in fixed position relatively to the reel by the clamp bar 25.

'After the film has been thus reeled on the lower reel it may be stored away for future use or at once removed from the lower supporting shaft 17 and mounted on the upper supporting shaft 16 and keyed or otherwise fixed thereto and another like reel placed on the lower shaft to receive the film as it is passed through the projectin machine. The usual or any suitable film eed mechanism embodied in and as a part of the projecting machine may be employed by which to draw the film from the upper reel and pass it through the machine. Such feed mechanism is usually connected by proper gearing with the lower reel so as to maintain the same in rotation on the shaft to receive the film. For the sake of clearness of illustration'of the present invention these elements of the film feed means are omitted. In drawing the film from the upper reel the roll of film is rotated on the annular series fixed reel.

of bearing rollers or shells relatively to the 7 After a few inches of the film has been pulled off the center part of the film roll through the central space 21 and the vent opening 24 the film, by reason of its resiliency and its tendency to expand opens out in the general manner indicated in Fig. 2, so that the roll is eccentric and is supported by a few of the upper and anti-friction supporting rollers 22. Thereby the impedance to the paying out of the film due to the contact of the film rOll with the anti-friction rollers is minimized as will be apparent.

portion 21 of the reel is disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of the adjacent reel head, the outlet 30 in the casing 31 for the upper reel is made of a width slightly greater than the width of the film as,indicated in Fig. 1. Between said outlet 30 and the guide in the projecting machine to receive the film ample space is given to permit the film to resume a plane parallel to the plane of said guide.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the use of the oblique roller 22 or other equivalent means permits the inner or beginning end of the film to be threaded or trained or in any other suitable manner whereby it out of the reel in the manner shown may be passed through the appropriate guide of a projectin machine.

The objects hereinbefore set forth and the advantages arising from the construction will now be clear and need not be repeated.-

The outlet opening may be located on either side of the reel desired or on either side of the axis of the reel, and the angularity of the oblique roller 22 will be disposed to accord to the direction of outlet of the innerend of the film.

It will be understood that the structural details shown are capable of considerable variation within the spirit and scope of the 1 claims hereto appended and that the inven-,

tion is not limited thereto except as to tparts which are hereafter made the subject 0 specific claims and aS imposed by the prior art. It will be understood also that my im roved reel, while being especially adapta le to movin picture machines, is capable of other uses w ere like conditions of reeling strips or strands obtain.

I claim as my invention 1. A reel for the purpose set forth comthe reel.

2. A reel for the purpose set forth comprising heads spaced apart to afford a slight 1 g weaned clearance for the film, one provided with a film outlet opening, and an annular series of reel supporting rolls extending between said heads and closely spaced and non-rotative as a series relatively to the central axis of the heads, one of said rolls being disposed to ro-- tate on'an axis oblique to the axis of the reel to direct the film from the inner part of the reel in a plane at right angles to the axis of the reel, and means on the exterior of the reel adjacent to said oblique roll to receive and hold the inner end of the film.

3. A reel for the purpose set forth comprising spaced heads, one provided with a film outlet opening, a series of annularly disposed tie rods extending between and fixed to said heads, film supporting rolls rotatively mounted on said rods, one of said tie rods and its roll being disposed oblique to the axis of the reel to direct the film from the inner part of the film roll, and one of the heads being provided adjacent to the oblique roll with an opening outwardly through which the film may be drawn. I

4. A reel for the film of moving picture machines comprising spaced heads, an annular series of tie rods extending between said heads and headed at their ends, antifriction film roll supporting rollers rotatively mounted on said rods and abutting at their ends against said heads, and a directing roll in the circle of said series rotating on an axis oblique to the reel axis, and one of the heads being provided adjacent to said obliquely disposed roll with an outlet opening for the inner end of the film.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, November, A. D. 1915.

WILLIAM E. MILL t 3';

Witnesses:

W. L. HALL, REBEooA WILLNER.

this 26th day of V 

